⇒ U.S. stocks on Thursday recovered earlier losses as investors shrugged off disappointing housing, manufacturing and employment report. The Dow average closed at its 46th record of the year, adding 11.11 points, or 0.1% to 16,179.08. It also hit an intraday record of 16,194.72. The SandP 500 index briefly ventured into positive territory but closed 1.05 point off its record close level at 1,809.60. The Nasdaq Composite closed lower, shedding 11.93 points, or 0.3%, to 4,058.13 – Source: Marketwatch

⇒ Chinese stocks stumbled on Friday on concerns over a cash crunch, while Asian shares crept higher, with investors reassessing the Federal Reserve’s policy outlook after its decision this week to start tapering stimulus. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan added 0.1 percent. It erased early gains to end a touch softer in the previous session. Tokyo’s Nikkei benchmark shed 0.5 percent on profit-taking. The index rallied 1.7 percent to its highest closing level in six years on Thursday as the yen slid following the Fed taper decision – Source: Reuters

⇒ The U.S. Senate will vote Jan. 6 to confirm Janet Yellen as chairman of the Federal Reserve, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid announced. Under an agreement reached tonight, senators will hold a procedural vote tomorrow to advance Yellen’s nomination, with the final action to confirm her set for when the chamber returns after a holiday break, Reid said – Source: Bloomberg

⇒ The dollar was poised for an eighth straight week of gains versus the yen and its first five-day advance in more than a month against the euro as signs of strength in the U.S. economy boosted demand for assets there. The Bloomberg U.S. Dollar Index touched its highest level in two weeks amid prospects the Federal Reserve will continue to dial back monthly bond buying after announcing a $10 billion cut. The euro fell a third day to its lowest since Dec. 6 as traders speculated the European Central Bank will need to loosen monetary conditions to support the region’s fragile recovery. The Bloomberg Dollar Index, which tracks the greenback against 10 major peers, rose to 1,024.08 today, its strongest since Dec. 4. It’s poised for a 0.6 percent advance this week, the biggest five-day gain since the period ended Nov. 1 – Source: Bloomberg

⇒ The yen faced pressure in early Asian trade on Friday, ahead of the outcome of a Bank of Japan meeting at which policymakers were expected to maintain their commitment to ultra-easy monetary policy. The BOJ is expected to refrain from expanding its stimulus any time soon as Japan’s economic recovery takes root and a weaker yen lifts exports. Nearly two-thirds of Japanese firms expect the BOJ to ease further, though, in the first six months of 2014, as it tries to achieve 2 percent inflation within two years, a Reuters poll showed earlier this month – Source: Reuters

⇒ Gold futures marked their lowest settlement in more than three years on Thursday as the Federal Reserve’s January tapering plans and a rally in the U.S. dollar sank prices below $1,200 an ounce. Gold for February delivery, the most-active contract, tumbled $41.40, or 3.4%, to settle at $1,193.60 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. Futures prices touched intraday lows under the key $1,200 level for the first time since June and they also suffered their biggest one-day loss since June – Source: Marketwatch

⇒ Japanese companies’ cash holdings rose to a record last quarter, highlighting Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s struggle to spur the investment and wage increases needed to end a 15-year deflationary malaise. Corporate holdings of cash and deposits rose to 224 trillion yen ($2.15 trillion), up 5.9 percent from a year earlier, according to a Bank of Japan report released yesterday – Source: Bloomberg

⇒ An index of household confidence in the euro area was at minus 15 this month, after falling to minus 15.4 in November, the European Commission will report today according to a separate Bloomberg survey. Weak confidence, slowing growth and inflation that’s remained below the ECB’s 2 percent goal for most of this year is prompting speculation the central bank will need to do more to stimulate the region’s economy – Source: Bloomberg

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